Desharnais gets four-year, $14-million deal

The Canadiens announced on Friday morning that they have signed centre David Desharnais, 26, to a four-year contract extension worth $14 million. The deal will kick in next season and run through 2016-17.

In 27 games this season, the 5-foot-7, 177-pound Desharnais has 8-8-16 totals and is minus-2.

“David Desharnais is a talented young player and his contribution is essential to the success of our team,” general manager Marc Bergevin said in a news release. “David has shown perseverance and determination which enabled him to reach the NHL and succeed. He has earned this contract extension and the Canadiens organization is pleased to have secured his services for many years to come.”

Said coach Michel Therrien: “David deserves everything that’s happening to him. We’re pleased to have a good guy like that on our team.”

Tweeted teammate Brandon Prust (@BrandonPrust8): “Congrats to Davey Desharnais on his new deal. Habs future is looking great!.. Good thing I’m not gm I woulda gave the guy 20 mill!”

Tweeted Josh Gorges (@jgorges26): “Congrats to #DD on signing with the #Canadiens for 4 more years!!! Great day for both #Habs and Davy #wheresdinner”

In other moves Friday, the Canadiens assigned forward Petteri Nokelainen to the Hamilton Bulldogs after he cleared NHL waivers and called up Michael Blunden, who had 10-12-22 totals in 54 games with the Bulldogs. Blunden will replace Michael Ryder, who is sidelined with a lower-body injury.

Desharnais, a native of Laurier-Station, was never drafted and joined the Canadiens as a free agent in November 2008. In 157 career NHL games, he has 32-67-99 totals and is plus-4.

Desharnais was on the ice for practice Friday morning in Brossard as the Canadiens prepared for Saturday’s game in New Jersey against the Devils (7 p.m., CBC, RDS, TSN Radio 690).

Also on the ice was defenceman Jarred Tinordi, the Canadiens’ first-round draft pick in 2010, who was called up from the Hamilton Bulldogs on Thursday and will make his NHL debut Saturday with Francis Bouillon as his partner. Tinordi will wear No. 42.

The other defence pairings at practice were: Markov-Emelin; Gorges-Subban.

Hmm… getting a little worried now.. not that I don’t like Blunden – I was hoping he would get a shot this season but our forward lines are now missing Bourque, Ryder and Prust… starting to get too thin for my liking.

I’m guessing Blunden will go fourth line with White & Armstrong while Moen goes up with Pleks & Gio?

I think this deal is great! This guy works hard, great back checker, he is able to keep cycles going with his shifty and quick movements along the boards, able to make plays and has great chemistry with our leading goal scorer. Man MB just keeps impressing me.

Random Friday Thoughts:
1) Although I cam not a huge fan of DD I think it is a fair deal on both ends. Not just because it is a manageable cap hit but it is also a tradeable asset if needed. Gone are the days of losing assets for nothing.
2) It’s quite clear that the biggest reason the Halak backers want him back is so we can propose everybody’s favorite old rumor of Halak, Ryder and a 2nd for…….
3) IF Tinordi can prove his worth in this stint he could easily find himself as a regular for the home stretch.
4) With his recent surge it looks like my wishes of landing Chris Stewart are pretty much flushed.
5) OF the following players which one would be the most realistic to land before the deadline: Robidas, Clarkson, Glenncross.

Here’s why I really like this move. With DD signed Habs have no significant UFA’s or RFA’s coming up after the season so the core is intact. As of today Habs have 18 players signed for next year with 8 M in cap space. After Kaberle buy out they’ll have 17 signed with over 12 M in cap space. Max roster is 23, so that means MB has to sign 6 players for 12 M. Now the Cole trade is looking brilliant, IMO. Top 4-5 on defence are signed as well as most of the current starting forwards. More than enough cash to make an aggressive move or 2 with the bumper crop of FA’s coming up. This is one really smart GM.

Just remember we can’t go overboard with signings either after next season Emelin Diaz and Eller have to be resigned and maybe Gionta depending where the team is by next season. http://www.capgeek.com/canadiens/

My bad for not looking a little further ahead, but you still have to love the wiggle room. I could see MB signing Eller to a similar extension to DD, Emelin and Diaz for a little less. Subban will break the bank, though, so there may be no room for Markov or Gionta. Then again, we may not need them as much in 2 years.

HIO has a logjam of provactive say the same thing over and over again wanting to be the centre of attention and contributing lttle more than driving up the page hits commentators. Loonie has just been traded to Pension Plan Puppets.

Anyone think Timmins draft record is prohibiting the team from trading spare parts for late round picks? If you take one of the Habs spare parts and Timimns turns it into Jaro Halak, Sergei Kostitsyn, Diaz, Streit or someone like that you sure look bad.

As the Habs renew with their winning tradition of another era, it is Lars Eller who is the avatar. He is a centreman in the mould of Béliveau. The previous administration has justifiably taken a lot of heat for underachieving, but they certainly got it right when they chose Eller.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded centre David Steckel to the Anaheim Ducks.
In exchange for Steckel, the Leafs obtained right-winger Ryan Lasch and Anaheim’s seventh-round pick in the 2014 NHL entry draft.

With this move, the Leafs have firmly established themselves as prohibitive Stanley Cup favourites.

But which beer are you gonna drink?
A smallish beer that is good now but will cost you for 4 years?
An aging beer that is the best beer you can curerntly drink but may go skunky in a few years?
A beer that has developed into a beer that is realy good tasting and reasonalby priced…is a larger beer and just may be as good as your aging beer?
A beer that could be the awesomest of awesomest but is currently being brewed but may not be at its best for a year or two?

Today I’m going to drink a Keith’s. I guess that is like the smallish beer, it does the job, tastes good, but is not as refined or high end as other beers, but it is definitely more affordable. Usually underrated or overrated.

Later, I’m going to drink Beau’s Lug Tread Lager. A fairly new beer that has developed into a really good tasting and overall quality beer that can do it all, and is reasonably priced. It may be as good as the higher end beers.

ahh..one of my favourite beers…it is an evloving beer FYIi as well…used to not be good in bars where shooters were Leafs either…but next time around this evloving yet pricey beer will be good….even to Islanders and Penguins..you will see…maybe even see double depending how much you drink.

Can someone explain to me why on a team that is leading the conference a coach would care more about developing his youngest player as a center than icing the strongest possible lineup?
I get it if you are the Oilers and in complete rebuild mode…but whose mintues and position are you going to take away for him to play center?
Some quotes refer to Galchenyuk’s production before the move…how aobut we look at what really matters?
HOW MANY GAMES HAVE BEEN LOST SINCE GALCHENYUK MOVED TO THE WING????

For a guy who’s accused everyone who’s disagreed with him of missing the point you sure don’t seem to have a handle on what they’re saying.

There will come a time when Galchenyuk is ready to play centre. And if, when that happens this team keeps him on the wing for the sake of preserving three trios centred by Plekanec, Eller and Desharnais it will be failing the team.

Not today, not tomorrow, not yesterday, not in a month. When he’s ready.

You know just as well as anyone else who has a clue about hockey that putting an elite puck distributor who also happens to be immensely creative offensively at centre is to put him in the best position for both him and the team.

But it locks the centre position for the next two years. MB has a clear picture of what he has and what he is working with.

At present he has 2 definitive centres. DD & TP.

He also has AG & LE who are the 3rd centres in the mix; and a Winger (depending on the day…).

He & MT now have time to evaluate those two, see how they fit with out worrying if they are losing DD in a year or so.

And hey, lets be honest… AG is a lock, so we are talking about Eller, Desharnais and Plekanec… not Crosby, Malkin and Staal…

(Remember yesterday when I said I didn’t like out mix at centre… hahaha)
Anyways, here’s what I see in two/three years:

1. Galch
2. DD
3. Eller
Someone (that fans are giddy about saying he should get the time Eller or DD are getting).

A situation very similar to today’s, but with a premier #1 in AG, and then 2a & 2b in DD/Eller. With Eller filling more of the Plecky role.
I love Pleks but the DD contract probaly makes him the next to move (and DD’s contract length does provide insurance incase TP went to free agency, I think).

well if i have misinterpeted the debate then my bad…but the way I read it was you and he were upset that he wasn’t being developed at center instead of icing the best possible team. The quotes you referenced were mine and the stats you quoted were this years. Well this is no fun anymore…I thought we had a good ol debate to replace Halak/Price, DD/Eller, Ryder/Cole, Lager/Ale

That may be one of the most cutting insults uttered on this site. Eddie Shack. This was a little before my time, but my father tells me John Ferguson would regularly put a collar and leash on her and take her out for walks.

You’re younger than I thought. With due respect to your father, Eddie was alright. He did a “Glad” commercial before there was a “Man from Glad.” The “Entertainer” was quite funny in that old black and white.

Any chance St-Denis gets to show his stuff with the big club, much in the same way Pateryn and Tinordi have had a chance? True, he’s not big, and he’s not a right-handed shot, but I thought St-Denis played a simple, solid game when he was with the club last season.

An easy contract to move??? Please tell me what teams are beating down the doors for a 5’7′” center at 3.5M per year.

No GM’s out there looking for a top line center has Desharnais on their list. Guaranteed. We’re stuck with him.

But as one poster said below, Pacs says he his the best player he has ever played with,,,,,,,,,,,,that would mean something except Pacs has only played with Habs of the last 3 seasons,,,,,that bar is not very high.

I don’t like talk about playing Galchenyuk at wing for years on end with some posters saying that he struggled at center (?! have no clue where they got that from; he was misused during the WJCs and was forced to play with a plug, Sean Kuraly, as his center).

He really has few weaknesses in his game and, on the other hand, has so many strengths meaning that he is perfectly suited to becoming an elite center in the NHL.

It would be a mistake for the Habs to keep him on the wing just t accommodate other players.

This brings up the center dilemma: I would rather have Pleks-Galchenyuk-Eller down the road than Pleks-Galchenyuk-DD. The latter option isn’t so bad if Pleks were at a point in his career where being a 3rd line center would be better and DD is still performing.

I just think that DD, while being a great offensive player, lacks versatility. He absolutely needs some pretty stringent playing conditions in order to be effective, something that is much less true with Eller.

DD’s contract is actually pretty good. I’m just concerned about the possibility of having to choose which centers to have in the future.

The Habs will protect Chucky as long as they can while he matures. They want to put him in situations where he succeeds. Having a winning season allows the coach to pick and choose where best to play him.

As someone pointed out earlier, Galchenyuk was actually producing at center this season in the NHL. And sure, for this season, I can understand keeping him at wing and I wasn’t ‘complaining’ about that.

But, even as early as next season, Galchenyuk would ideally be grown into his role as an NHL center.

Going back to Galchenyuk playing on the wing this season in junior, it was because Charles Sarault can only play center (he’s the OHL’s leading scorer, but look at his number of assists vs. goals). Galchenyuk, being a lot more versatile, could slot over to the wing and dominate from there – he was tied for goal scoring lead in the OHL by the time he left for the WJCs and probably had the 2nd most assists in the OHL.

But in the NHL, he will have to adapt to the center role, which will obviously require him to play center.

The sequence of events was that he did produce effectively at centre at first, but then tapered off. Michel “On a pas l’temps d’niaiser” Therrien quickly muted him to the wing and put Lars at centre at that point. Alex is still struggling to produce offensively, although he’s still skating strongly and getting chances. So while the numbers make it look like he was more effective at centre, it’s not exactly so.

Inconsistency in a rookie (doubly true in Galchenyuk’s case) is almost unavoidable unless you’re Sidney Crosby. As you mentioned, he hasn’t exactly been more productive on the wing either. I just interpret the situation as Galchenyuk being able to play center, but Lars is a better option and, frankly, that’s perfectly fine because Eller has received the short end of the stick development-wise at center as well in terms of playing with guys that can play in an offensive role.

You’ve got it all wrong. To make our players who need no fictional inflation of their relative values look better we need to trash Galchenyuk and pretend like he doesn’t have an elite skill set. We also need to acknowledge that even though he’s likely to be ready for full-time duty as a centreman within the next year that it would be much better for this team to leave lesser quality centremen in place than it would be to have our most skilled player playing the most important and versatile role at forward.

Let’s build the team around Desharnais, Eller and Plekanec, not Galchenyuk.

I agree he does need more time to develop into the role. With the relative depth at center, the Habs have an opportunity to keep the pressure on the veterans and not on him. Hell, if he shows he’s ready to be the #1 or 2 center by next season’s camp, so be it. Then, there will be movement on the center front.

We really shouldn’t be too critical about how the Habs are bringing him along.

Tom…I know you are a coach…and I know that you understand the importance of the other side of the puck…you have demonstrated that with your takes on both Pleks and Eller. Why is Galchnyuk immune to that assessment? Because of his skill level? sure when he is in the role DD is currently in…then I can see it but right now surely you concede that he should not be playing center over either Pleks or Eller. Dd is currently stronger on the puck and has a better undestanding of what he can and cannot do at the speed and pressured pace of the NHL…Galchenyuk is doing what rookies do and getting a feel for that. We saw this from Eller on the offesnvie side last year. Glachenyuyk is not able to protect the puck yet long enough to make good enough use of his skill level.

I would love to see Galchenyuk and Dd battle for 25 loose pucks…right now I would say that Dd would win 15-20 of those despite the size, reach and skill advantages ALL going to Galchenyuk.
You are taking those statements out of context , omitting the good points I made about his game and running with those…I stand by what I believe of his defensive game and forechecking game and ability to play center on a top team right now 100 percent…feel free to disagree but pulling quotes out of context and judging him differently than you yourself judge the other centers is not fair.

I have serious concerns about his skating. Am I the only person in Habs nation that can see that Chucky has seriously dysfunctional propulsion dynamics. Both he and LeBlanc need months with a figure skating coach ASAP!

When I said he struggled at centre in junior this year, I said “a bit”, meaning he had a slow start offensively at centre, but really caught fire offensively on the wing. He was blitzing the OHL on the wing actually.

No it could be that the slow start was a result of not playing for a year, obviously, but it could also be that *right now* his skills translate better on the wing.

I didn’t say for years to come or anything. Maybe another year. Maybe two even. Or not. If he’s ready to play centre next year, great. Cross that bridge when we come to it. Trade DD or trade Eller. We’ll get something good back.

Have to choose between four good centres is one of those good problems to have.

Okay, sorry I made it sound overblown, lol (though in some other peoples’ case, it really isn’t overblown).

I should have addressed the OHL wing aspect here:
– Sarault, a very good overage center, cannot play on the wing.
– To create a stacked top line, Jacques Beaulieu put Sarault at center with Galchenyuk and Boucher on the wings.
– Galchenyuk, being an excellent player, put up very good numbers, both as a goal scorer and as a playmaker (assists)
– at center, Galchenyuk’s linemates couldn’t keep up with him (he wasn’t with Boucher and Sarault at this point); he was giving them great opportunities, but they couldn’t convert (may sound like a poor excuse, a good player makes everyone better around him and all that, but I’m pretty sure that was the reality)
– on the Sting team, there is a huge drop off in talent after Sarault, boucher and Galchenyuk; they have a very promising rookie called Goldobin, but he wasn’t playing with Gally

Alright you win…let’s annoint him a top center right now and give him 20 minutes a game despite the fact he loses more puck battles than anyone, can’t take a faceoff against NHlers yet, isn’t strong enough to cover guys or help out down low in his own end with consistency and at the level otf a first place team. You seem to think this is a slight against him long term or even currently..it is not…it is the reality right now..at this point in time. Myself and many others do not see it changing by next season…prehaps he proves us worng..I hope so it means that he has developed magnificently but I doubt it.

No matter what is happening right now that does not detract from his skill set…what he does have right now is a well better than average release, well above average and damn near if not already elite hands, a playmaking ability that is already elite ( I have never seen anyone pass so hard and accurately..he is in fact hard to play with because guys are flat out missing his laser beam passes…that will change once they are aware he’ll always find him).

HE has strenghts that are incredible…but he has weaknesses that are not ok for a center….especially on a top team that relies on a pressureforechecking philosophy. Dd looks like a Selke winner right now vs Galchenyuk….that is scary…but h e is a friggin kid. Before your respond I am very aware of his plus/minus but much of that was with Prust and Gallagher and his spots have been picked…rightfully so.

The kid is a star in the making but there is no need to get upset when people point out the current weaknesses…if in 2 or 3 years those are still weaknesses..he just remains on the wing..doesn;t mwan his other skills will diminish. Byt ehway…I don;t see that happening.

Most of his weaknesses at the moment I would say are issues of maturity. He is young, needs to put on some muscle, needs to continue to adjust to the speed of the NHL, and needs to learn how to contain opponents better. I think we will see slight improvements throughout this season but will be a stud next year. Why? He missed all of last year and has already played close to 70 games this year. I can imagine he is pretty mentally and physically fatigued. It must be somewhat overwhelming for him at the moment, but I bet he is learning tons. And with a summer to add some size and properly prepare for an NHL season, I see him making a big jump next year

Exactly..and that is all I said but it is my quotes that are being used…I did and stil say I doubt by next year he is any more ready for that role. Hope he proves me wrong but even if he doesn;t he is still gonna do his thing fromt he wing.

The weaknesses you point out are weaknesses due to his youth and inexperience – and I would say he was already acquitted himself remarkably for an 18/new 19 year old who had missed a whole year of development. But his game – his skating, vision, passing, shot – virtually has no weaknesses unlike so many other players. Not only that, many of those aspects are actually strengths, which is even more rare. He isn’t a perimeter player, will go into the dirty areas, and I am convinced that in time he will be able to consistently win puck battles. Physically, he is pretty tall, and although he can certainly add some muscle, he isn’t lanky like RNH or Huberdeau.

My post wasn’t about anointing him as the #1 center this season or even next season. I just want to see him develop at center like he should, and, if the only reason he isn’t is to keep DD in the lineup, then I disagree. I consider Eller a different story because he is younger than DD, has size and mass, is versatile and also has skill.

I’m fine with DD’s cap hit, but I don’t want to see the term interfere with potentially better options for the Habs moving forward.

Edit: I should emphasize that this is down the road, NOT this season – I’m writing about during years 1.5-4 in DD’s contract.

Am I missing something…I 100 percent agree and always have that is why his”weaknesses” are weaknesses…but the team comes first and for this season (and I believe next season) he should be a winger…..unless someone ahead of him gets injured.

Having to choose will be difficult, but I believe MT will give the best player the right amount of time. JM would put a rookie on the third line forever, but when Galchenyuk is ready he’ll get moved up the lineup. Too much depth is not a bad thing

Why the heck do people want to trade Pleks? He is one of our best forwards can pass shoot score good on the pp and PK i never understood why the heck anyone would want to get rid of him. He is probably one of the most underrated players out there and with the people who keep saying trade him clearly he’s going unappreciated in some peoples eyes.

I am glad that Bergevin has had Pateryn up and now Tinordi. It makes me think that he is looking to see if they are at the point that they would make the team next season or be able to play the rest of this one. That and the DD extension smells of a possible deal in the works. perhaps one of the current dmen and Pleks!

So it’s okay to compare galchenyuk to an art Ross and conn smythe trophy winner malkin but its not okay to compare subban to doughty even though subban’s numbers were similar to doughty’s last year and much better than doughty’s this year?

I think everyone here is aware of the surplus of good players we are enjoying. MB knows what he is doing and will build the team to compete. Why not just enjoy the ride? There is time before moves have to be made at C. Besides, the Habs have good forwards comin’ out the escape hatch, what we should be focusing on is improving the D and the PK.

What’s cute is the notion that a team MUST conform to the notion of having a single top line and centre. Balanced scoring and attack from three lines by the Canadiens has been driving opposing coaches crazy and has been a key to their success this season.

Bingo. All three lines are playing good minutes and all are dangerous. There’s no number one line and doesn’t have to be. But there is a number one forward.

Pleks takes on the opposition’s best, that cannot be debated. He has been every coach’s go-to guy, which says it all. Last year DD got Pacioretty and Cole, and Plekanec got the box they came in, and he still nearly scored as many points as DD. He’s the man. Viva la Turtleneck.

Gionta, Gallagher, Desharnais, all smallish. Which one would you move? I’d move Gionta.
Maybe I’m wrong in this assessment, but to me, this DD deal could very well spell a parting with Bryan Gionta and the Habs? Thoughts?
CH = Les Glorieux!!!

Absolutely. For me, the deal was sealed the day he separated his shoulder, as weird as that sounds (don’t worry, I was still a fan before that). He didn’t have to give it his all and do that just to get the puck, but he still did. You can’t hate on a work ethic like that, ever.

I’m not a fan of DD, never was, but I appreciate what he brings to a team, he’s a definite part of the makeup of this Habs team and they would not have the same success without him.
I think one of the reasons I’m not a fan of his was the constant praise he was/is getting, comparison to St-Louis, annoiting him #1, saying he is better than Plekanec and all that jazz, it always and still does ring false to me.
Of course there’s also his detractors, just as vocal for sure, but somehow it’s easier to shut out the negatives on this place for me, must be force of habit…
Moving forward, the Habs have a good number of centers, and while none of them are elite yet, when you combine their skill on 3 lines you get a pretty deep team, and their skillset compliment each other. It helps if one center is slumping to have 2 capable players that can step in and do good work.
Sure the Habs will have to eventually find a spot for Galchenyuk at center, but that’s not here or now.
We’ll have a better idea of what the team will do when the playoffs are done and with the draft.

(the other one. but I already figured it’s prob a bit too speculative/psychoanalytical for your taste. Still, can there be a downside to hitting Chara in the corners all night? You won’t intimidate him, obviously. But I’m working on a theory that he’s susceptible to ill-judged retaliation).

One of the things about hitting Zdeno Chara is that it’s completely ineffectual. I remember Mathieu Darche last season trying it in a game, he lined him up and tried to bodycheck him behind the goal line three times, and he literally bounced off him and landed on his butt on the ice. And Mathieu is no monster, but he’s a pretty solid guy. The RDS guys were commenting that it was useless to try to hit him like that, that at best it might make him mad or wake him up. I think unless you have Chris Pronger/Georges Laraque size, hitting the Big Z is a a waste of time. Better to skate around him and frustrate him that way.

In terms of psychological warfare, the constant booing he endures at the New Forum does seem to work though. He seems tentative and reserved when he plays there since he got away with his Great Crime thanks to Daddy Campbell, and the “extraordinarily comfortable” Gary Bettman.

I’m sure that he’s as impervious to boos as he is to the physical element in hits.

My point, perhaps not best articulated, is that he really DOES seem to resent the fact that anyone should even contemplate hitting him. “I am the league’s best Dman, and I’m huge and unethical, and I have therefore earned the right not to be hit by any of the lesser mortals I play against.

Sure looks like red mist to me! Then think of Emelin and Pacs. I’m wondering whether continuous if physically ineffectual hitting would help keep him in the box. Boston’s D is very ordinary without him.

I do get that point. On the few times that he is caught unaware and a hit actually registers, he does seem to take it personally and want to retaliate immediately. I guess he’s not used to taking a licking, like other players have to be.

I’m not worried about Eller’s immediate future here. I have a feeling that this era of Habs management is more attentive and nurturing towards our younger players, and I think we’ve seen some of that with Eller, considering how long we’ve allowed him to gel with the team, and grow as a player.

No pressure on young Tinordi by bringing up Larry Robinson, below; two Norris’, one Conn Smythe (which Gretzky says should be renamed “Beliveau”), nine first-team all-star selections. I’d settle for a “Rick Green.”

Great point. Let the kid ease into it without the pressure. The great thing is, the young’uns are getting called up when the team is on a roll, and playing solid hockey with a defined system… so they can be slotted in with about 7-10 min playing time and not be asked to be heroes. As long as Tinordi plays a mistake-free few minutes a game to gain some experience he’ll be ok.

I think it`s a good deal for both. We all saw what he is able to do and even if he is small he does not get intimidated by others and can handle the traffic.
He has one big quality that you do not find in most players, he makes the other ones better . This alone is worth a lot.

Anyone remember when we all complained about not having enough good playmaking centers?

Remember last year when only one line could score, and the rest looked like a bunch of AHL lines thrown into a blender?

Now we have a very BALANCED and DEEP team, with scoring distributed throughout. And we have the luxury of Pleks-DD-Eller down the middle while letting Chucky gain experience and confidence at the NHL level while playing wing for the next couple of years… and if any of the above get injured, we have a solid replacement to slot in.

I think the signing is great, both for term and value… and MB sets a great market rate for the others he will need to sign down the line. GM of the year for sure, if you ask me (but then again I’m biased!)

Many people here think I’m being dishonest but I like David Desharnais. Great story, huge heart and was excellent for this team at times when many weren’t. Just shows how professional he is.

The comparisons to Martin St. Louis are way off base. They’re completely different players. St. Louis’ best asset has always been his speed and shot. Desharnais’ best assets are his ability to protect the puck and his passing.

Regardless of their playing style, the point being made by others (and myself) is that DD is actually on par, if not ahead of, St Louis with respect to production rate when comparing them at similar ages. Who knows, maybe DD will continue increasing his productivity (as St Louis did) as he gets older over the next 4 years, which means his cap hit is an absolute steal, and a great deal by MB.

But when comparing amount of money paid to a scoring forward, point production is a key element… and in the case of St Louis and DD, neither is a physical player really, so scoring is the main tool to compare their abilities. In that regard, he is ahead of St Louis at the same age… that’s all I’m saying. He has potential to become a big point producer… as St Louis did…

I think what you’re doing is good in evaluating where he fits in. But you’ve completely disregarded the mitigating circumstances with the other players in my opinion.

It’s easy to say Desharnais comes at a better value than Seguin. But the counterpoint to that is obviously Seguin’s limited role in his first season had a negative impact on his ppg totals and in addition his offensive ceiling is significantly higher than Desharnais’.

The Bruins are happier to be paying Seguin $5 million than they would be to be paying Desharnais $3.5 million.

I could be wrong, but wasn’t Bobby Ryan on his line? I vaguely remember people talking about how well they played together and how the Habs should pursue Ryan, who apparently wanted out of Anaheim at the time.

Good signing. Reasonable term, comparatively modest salary. I don’t understand why people think this means the end for Eller. At the moment we have Plekanec, Desharnais, and Eller as our top three centres, with Galchenyuk waiting to take over one of the first two spots in a year or more likely two. For the moment he’s still adjusting to the NHL game, and I don’t think it’s harming him to play on the wing. Look at Tyler Seguin. Galchenyuk does well some games, but in others he seems a bit lost. The strength and timing will come. When he is really ready, one of the others will be traded, and Desharnais seems a more likely candidate than Eller.

I also like that Bergevin is dealing with these contract issues during the season, rather than waiting till the off-season as Gainey did. I’m betting this means P.K. will be signed long-term somewhere about the middle of next season.

When the Canadiens were sniffing after the Penguins’ 1st pick overall in Mario Lemieux’s draft year, they were asked for Patrick Roy and Chris Chelios in return, among others. I still don’t know whether we should have made that trade or not.

Whenever the Canadiens were trying to make a trade, other teams wanted Saint-Patrick back. It was par for the course.

And to be fair, although we (me at the forefront) blame Réjean Houle for giving him away to the Avalanche, there are stories that in the dying days of the Serge Savard administration, that he was trying to trade Patrick also, his behaviour being ever-more disruptive.

EDIT: Just double-checked, that didn’t seem right, and obviously it wasn’t, Patrick Roy was drafted in 1984, the same year Mario was, so the Pens couldn’t have been asking for him. I do remember it was Chelios and another huge piece though, maybe someone else remembers?

Loonie, your critique should focus on the facts, not the poster. It’s touchy when someone tells someone else that they’re stretching the truth, or that their post is laughable.

Plus, HabsPEI31 has a disclaimer right there in his original post, when he says that “Comparables aren’t easy, since all below were drafted and are younger”. His post is meant to be illustrative, not as scientifically airtight with all variables controlled.

DD signing an extension can only mean one thing… that DD was signed to an extension.

It does not mean Eller or Pleks are on the way out. It does not mean Galchenyuk will stay forever on the wing. It does not mean DD will finish his career here. It also does not mean we are doing a sign and trade.

It COULD end up at one of these conclusions, it could not.

It means he played well and the organization is retaining an asset. Unless one of you is Bergevin, or Thierrien, or Timmins in disguise (Commandant, got my eye on you) none of us are privy to future intentions of the club.

Good for DD. Signing him doesn’t change the centre situation so I don’t see why some think moves are nigh. Maybe yes, maybe no. For now we have a very good lineup and lots of options moving forward.

Also, you must have hit Boone’s bong this morning if you think DD is here because of the language game.
Saw some comments last page about Eller being the odd man out… not true. That’s something we don’t know and won’t know for a year or two. MB knows what he is doing, he will be taking a longer look at this centres before deciding who is who. Besides, moving Eller does not fit with MB’s logic.

Guys I see to ways to look at the D.D. move you try to trade Pleky if he says yes with his NTC and have D.D. Eller Chucky or it stays the same as this year next year. D.D. should have got 2 years at 3.5.

To HabsinBurlington, as for Tinordi being soft, I believe the rumors started when he supposedly was knocked-out in a game with the Knights. He got a black eye, but I didn’t see him being knocked out. Of course, plenty of TSN fans are ripping him because they expect him to be like Chara, big, dirty, mean, but I think Chara is very weak when playing against skilled players. We’ve undressed him more than once and apart from the head-locks and crap like Max-pac “jumping” into the Stanchion, I wouldn’t want Tinordi emulating Chara. I would love to see him be a Larry Robinson, but bigger. That is another story as Larry could skate, score and clear the net….(see me day dreaming of http://video.canadiens.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=121009)

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And Doug Hamilton was just voted 3rd best prospect behind Taresenko and Schultz by Future Watch.

The Bruins have re-tooled with young players while still winning a Cup. They are also presently one of the top six teams in contention for this year. Hate them if you will, but they are a formidable foe in every way.

His Achilles heel? Could it be that despite being so good and such a veteran professional, he doesn’t always seem to be in full control of his temper/emotional state? Examples abound, most recently his costly attack on Emelin, but also the Pacioretty hit which arguably stemmed from Patches’ shove/taunt the game before. I’m also thinking of a big hit on him by Ryan O’Byrne (Youtube), knocking him over. His absolute immediate response was not to the puck but to O’Byrne whom he attacked. Went to the box.

It’s only an anecdotal theory, but what do you think? And if he IS easy to set off, should we always bang him in the corners EVERY time we have the puck in their zone?

I agree that Chara is an excellent D-man, I just pine for the Larry Robinson days. A gentleman that was physical as well as offensively very capable. Like having a 5th RW that was also a D-man. Loved big bird!

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Tinordi is a light-heavyweight. I think his fighting ability has improved since junior but not yet up to NHL standards for Heavyweight bouts. He has a 57% Winning percentage this year ,throwing 2x as many punches as his opponents but because of that long reach,he is landing 4x as many as receiving. From the bouts I”ve seen he shows good instinct , can take a punch and keep in the fight. He is learning the trade but needs more weight(which will come) and experience.Saludos!

DD’s contract is very affordable. For next year, the Habs now have 18 players under contract with $8 million left in cap space. After Kaberle is gone, they will have 17 players with $12M in cap space to replace mostly fourth liners and depth players, with the only key player to replace being Ryder. Very doable.

As for making room for Galchenyuk, they could leave him on the wing for another season easily. After next season, Eller will be due for a raise, Gionta will be coming off the books, and the Habs will have to decide what to do with Galchenyuk. Until then, the Habs have two legitimate shots at the Cup, this season and next season, so there is no reason to move anybody until after next season unless the return is worth it. At which point the DD contract will be very movable if they want. There is no downside to this signing.

Grabovski signed for four years with a cap hit of $5.5M. He is an offensive 2nd line centre, doesn’t kill penalties, and has never scored as many points as DD did last year.

Put another way, can you name another 2nd line centre capable of putting up 50+ points who eligible for unrestricted free agency and is paid less? As long as DD’s contract is movable, there is no downside. I think it is easily moved as long as he keeps producing.

Legitimate shot at the cup this year and next? Um, hey, I’m all for positive thinking but we still have some pieces to fill and heads to fix, like a hard charging forward that can score of size. Crease clearing defenseman who can start a rush and don’t just blindly clear a puck for an icing or on an opponents stick and a goalie that isn’t having more than one off day (yes, I noticed that Price has had a few this year and yes, for all those Price supporters he is a good goalie, just not great this year. Sure Pekke got lit up last night too, but not three out of the last four games).
Then, I’d say we have a shot to beat Chicago, Booins, Pittsburgh even the aging Anaheim. I just want the dominant days of old back, then I’d say, yup, we’ve got a legitimate Cup winning team.

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Those dominant decades of old are long gone, never to return. There are too many really good hockey people in NHL team management positions for any team to have problems for a long time, Oilers excluded.
Those years of rare losses will never return. Parity is what this league is about.

They have plenty of size up front, especially with the puck pressure style they play which depends on speed more than size.

I agree they could use a big defenseman who can play a shutdown role. Hopefully this gets addressed at the deadline or in the off season.

I think Price is good enough to win then a Cup. Their style of play does not surrender many shots, so they don’t need a goalie to steal games for them, he just needs to be steady. I think Price is capable of that easily. Detroit won with Osgood, Chicago with Niemi, for example.

How can he get much less than this, when Prust is making 2.5, Moen is at 1.8, Bourque is at 3.3.

My only concern is what PK thinks about this. He is currently hands down the best player on the team, while making significantly less than others. I hope he still wants to be a hab when his bridge contract is up.

PK’s contract was great for the team, I just hope it didn’t come at the expense of alienating him to point he wants out.

Whether a player comes from ECHL and battles his way up or is a 1st round pick and takes a traditional route to the show, does this have any impact on what they’ve “earned” or deserve or where they should line up on the team?

The best player should play. Just like the best coach should get the job (MT has done a fine job).

What do the last 3 cup winners have in common (besides physicality)? Good cap management. MB must be happy with DD’s production and signed him cheap (for a 60 pt man). With 3 balanced scoring lines now, offense is not the Habs problem. Even though I would have waited till after the playoffs, the contract is reasonable and won’t hurt the cap.

I don’t love this move but I an live with it. DD is a good player, but how many years do we have to live with all these tiny little guys playing Centre? Eller, Pleks and soon Galchenyuk are better in the middle so what is going to give? I suppose we can still trade DD for decent value if things get too jammed, but I’d hate to see Eller go to keep this guy. I like Davey but I simply don;t see him as a guy to build a team around.

But nothing has really changed here. If anything has changed, it’s that Desharnais has become even more tradable, since he is getting less than what he probably could have gotten on the free market as an RFA.